Sunday, January 5, 2014

PUNE: Chances are that citizens will not be
burdened with an increase in property tax in the next financial year.
The civic administration has submitted a proposal to the standing
committee, suggesting that the levy should not be hiked.

Property tax is one of the main sources of revenue for the PMC. The
department handles the billing and collection of property tax on
residential, commercial and other types of properties held privately or
by state and Union governments within the municipal limits.

“The committee has received the proposal, which was tabled at its
meeting earlier this week. The members wanted to discuss the proposal,
so it was decided to arrange a special meeting for the purpose. The
civic administration has suggested that there should be no increase in
the tax and the proposal is expected to be approved,” standing committee
chairman Vishal Tambe told TOI.

As per the proposal, the civic body will have to decide on the issue
by February 20, 2014. The proposal has projected income from property
tax for this year to be around Rs 720 crore.

PMC officials have said the administration hopes to increase the
revenue from property tax by around Rs 20 crore per year, thanks to
unassessed properties identified in a special drive. The PMC currently
collects tax from owners of around 7.5 lakh properties. It has
identified around 16,000 more properties and additional constructions in
over 4,000 structures in its drive.

“Property tax revenue is expected to go up due to various such
initiatives taken this year. Also, the PMC had increased the tax in
current financial year. Hence, the department prefers not to hike the
tax for next year,” civic officials have said.

According to the officials, the civic administration had proposed a
hike of 18% during the current financial year (2013-14), which the
standing committee reduced to 8%.

Property tax is the tax charged on immovable or tangible real
property, such as land, buildings and permanent improvements. PMC
assesses all residential and commercial properties situated within its
limits, based on which the owners have to pay the tax. The levy may also
include basic house/building tax plus service taxes such as street tax,
and conservancy/scavenging tax. It is collected either every six months
or annually. Citizens who pay their dues before May 31 get a discount
of 10%.